Apparatus for bundling lath or the like



May 31, 1960 w. M. RIES APPARATUS. FOR BUNDLING LATH OR THE LIKE '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed June 29, 1954 INVENTQR (William M. Ries rain:

May 31, 1960 w. M. RIES APPARATUS FOR BUNDLING LATH OR THE LIKE Original Filed June 29. 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 mvzm-on William M. Ries May 31, 1960 w. M. RIES 2,938,452

APPARATUS FOR BUNDLING LATH OR THE LIKE Original Filed June 29, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 o 0 d E .2 lL o INVENTOR William M.Ries %7"1 "M 244412??? May 31, 1960 w. M. RIES 2,938,452

APPARATUS FOR BUNDLING LATH OR THE LIKE Original Filed June 29, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 A INVENTOR E William M.Ries

May 31, 1960 w. M. RIES APPARATUS FOR BUNDLING LATH OR THE LIKE '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed June 29. 1954 NON QVN hhN mmN

INVENTOR William M. Ries d/ymw MWN May 31, 1960 w. M. RIES APPARATUS FOR BUNDLING LATH OR THE LIKE '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Original Filed June 29, 1954 INVENTOR William M.Ries

May 31, 1960 w. M. RIES APPARATUS FOR BUNDLING LATI-I OR THE LIKE 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Original Filed June 29, 1954 INVENTOR William M.Ries

United States Patent APPARATUS FOR BUNDLING LAT H OR THE LIKE William M. Ries, Wheeling, W. Va, assignor to Wheeling Steel Corporation, Wheeling, W. Va., a corporation of Delaware Application Mar. 26, 1957, Ser. No. 648,699, which is a division of application Ser. No. 439,985, June 29, 1954. Divided and this application Mar. 31, 1958, Ser. No. 725,405

Claims. Cl. 100--8) This invention relates to apparatus for bundling lath or the like. It has to do with improved apparatus for bundling lath or the like, and for purposes of explanation and illustration I shall describe the invention in connection with apparatus for making and handling expanded lath. The invention is not, however, limited to use in connection with apparatus for making and handling expanded lath. This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 648,699, filed March 26, 1957, which is in turn a division of my copending application Serial No. 439,985, filed June 29, 1954. Application Serial No. 439,985 has been abandoned in favor of copending continuation application Serial No. 800,012, filed March 17, 1959, and application Serial No. 648,699 has been abandoned in favor of copending continuation application Serial No. 798,088, filed March 9, 1959.

Since the invention is probably at the present time best adapted to be employed in the field of expanded metal lath the invention will be described with that field as a background although it is to be understood that the invention is not so limited. Expanded lath, while normally made out of metal, may today and in the future be made out of other material having appropriate characteristics, as, for example, certain synthetic plastics. Consequently, the term expanded lath as used herein contemplates lath expanded out of any suitable metal or non-metallic material.

The commercial way of making expanded metal lath at the present time, except for the plant employing my present invention, is to first provide metal sheets of proper characteristics and dimensions and then pass the sheets separately one after the other through rotary slitting and expanded apparatus. The sheets of expanded metal lath thus produced are coated with paint or other coating material and then are stacked and bundled by hand. The operation is inefiicient of time and high in cost, particularly labor cost.

It has heretofore been proposed by certain patentees to form expanded metal lath continuously by feeding a coil of strip through slitting and expanding apparatus and shearing into sheets on the fly the lath thus continuously produced. However, no such method of producing expanded metal lath has proved commercially feasible, probably primarily because the lath is produced so fast that it cannot adequately be taken care of after the shearing operation without disproportionate labor cost.

I have devised a procedure and an apparatus whereby expanded metal lath may be made continuously and sheared into sheets on the fly and the sheets piled or stacked, bundled and subjected to after-treatments such as coating and drying wholly automatically and withno labor except machine supervision. I thus greatly reduce the cost of the lath. At the same time'I produce'a superior unprecedentedly uniform product and an improved bundle of sheets of lath or the like produced entirely mechanically.

In the description to follow I shall refer to the blank 2,938,452 Patented May 31, 1960 used for producing the lath as a coil of steel strip. Conceivably a blank in other than coil form could be used but from the standpoint of economy the starting blank will normally be a coil. 1 feed the coiled strip continuously through slitting and expanding apparatus. The slitting and expanding apparatus per se may be conventional. A continuous length of expanded metal lath issues from the expander. I shear the advancing lath on the fly, utilizing a flying shear of suitable design. The lath is produced at a speed which may be of the order of 500 feet per minute.

I provide for delivering the advancing sheets of'expanded metal lath one after the other to a. receiving station and thence to a piling station where they are formed into a pile. Preferably the sheets are delivered to the receiving station in the same general direction as the direction in which the expanded metal lath issues from the expander so that the momentum of the material at least assists to a material extent in carrying it through to that station. i d

When the lath is sheared into sheets the sheets follow one another without substantial. change in direction to the receiving station. I preferably interpose between the shear and the receiving station a speed-up conveyor which delivers each sheet from the shear at a speed somewhat higher than the speed at which the lath is delivered from the expander, thus providing spaces between the advancing sheets. Thus there is a short time interval between the time when a sheet comes to rest at the receiving station and the time when the leading end of the succeeding sheet enters the receiving station. That time interval aids materially in proper piling and handling of the sheets in the piling station and subsequently.

I preferably provide for receiving the sheets one by one, stopping and momentarily supporting each sheet in a predetermining position directly above the place where the pile is to be formed and then releasing the sheet and allowing it to gravitate to the pile. I provide means for receiving each sheet and supporting the sheet, preferably adjacent the side edges of the sheet, and means for rendering the supporting means inoperative by withdrawing the same outwardly, thereby releasing .the sheet and allowing it to drop. As soon as the sheet drops onto the pile the supporting means return to operative position to receive the next sheet. The supporting means may be moved to inoperative position by control means actuated by the sheet itself as it approaches the position in which it is stopped at the receiving station. I provide a somewhat resiliently mounted bumper positioned in the path of the leading edges of the sheets as they move to the receiving station to stop the sheets one after the other.

I provide for automatically forming stacks or piles each of a predetermined number of sheets and for fastening together the sheets of each such stack or pile to form a bundle. I provide control mechanism which is sensitive to the number of sheets which are released to gravitate to the pile effective when the pile consists of a predeterminednumber of sheets to transfer the pile from the piling station to a bundling station. For purposes of illustration it may be considered that each bundle is to consist of ten sheets. As the tenth sheet of a pile is released and falls onto the pile the pile of ten sheets moves from the piling station to the bundling station andv provision is made for receiving at the piling station the first sheet of the next pile without interrupting or slowing down the delivery of sheets one after the other from the-shear tothe receiving station. I also preferably provide-a visible counter so that the .machineoperator may know it any time how many sheets are in a pile being formed.

1 find-it desirable to position the bundling station directly beneath the piling station so that each pile of ten sheets transferred from the piling station to the bundling station moves directly downwardly from the former to the latter. I find it desirable to provide two alternately operable supporting means for supporting a pile of sheets and lowering the pile when completed from the piling station to the bundling station.

At the bundling station I preferably pass fastening means, such as wires, through openings in the sheets and fasten together the ends of the fastening means about portions of the pile to fasten the sheets of the pile together to form a bundle. Any desired number of fastening means may be utilized in the formation of each bundle. I prefer to provide three fastening means at each side edge of thebundle or a total of sixfastening means per bundle. When the fastening means are wires it is convenient to accomplish the fastening function by twisting the ends of the Wirestogether.

. 4 coating material and dried, after which they may be delivered to a packaging station where a predetermined number of bundles, for example fifty, may be bound together into a package.

I find it desirable in moving the bundles through the coating and drying apparatus to arrange them with their long dimensions transverse of the direction of movement. Consequently, I preferably turn each bundle generally horizontally through an angle of 90 after its delivery from the bundling station and before coating. This may be accomplished by a turntable. The bundles are delivered successively from the turntable in the same general direction of advance as before but with theirv long dimensions Since the openings in the sheets being bundled not be, and generally are not, in exact vertical alignment I find it desirable to laterally support the flexible fastening means, such as wires, when passing them through the openings in the sheets. The lateral supportthus afforded the wires enables the wires to pass through the openings in the sheets without diificulty. The sheets may bevery slightly shifted or very slightly deformed adjacent the openings through which the wires are passed to permit passage of the wires each in a'substantially straight line through the openings of the sheets.

I prefer to utilize generally tubular means for laterally supporting the wires as they are introduced through the openings in the sheets. I provide tubes having eccentrically pointed upper ends arranged generally vertically adjacent the side edges of the pile and means for projecting the tubes upwardly through the openings in the piled up sheets. The tubes may be made of material of adequate structural strength such as steel. As each tube moves through the pile, if it is not in exact alignment with an opening in each sheet of the pile it may slightly shift the sheet or slightly deform the material of the sheet in forcing its way through. I find it desirable to rotate the tubes as they are advanced upwardly through the piled up sheets. pointed upper end moves in a circle, enabling it to find the openings in the sheets as the rotating tube advances upwardly therethrough.

* When each tube has passed through openings of the As each tube rotates its eccentrically piled up sheets a wire is advanced through the tube. In

this way the wire itself encounter to resistance from the sheets. I find it desirable to thus pass through the sheets the leading ends of wires delivered from coils. Each tube is retracted after serving its purpose of guiding the wire through the openings of the piled up sheets. The re traction of each tube may commence as soon as the wire therein has advanced far enough to insure that it will pass through all of the sheets of the pile. A part of the advancing movement of each wire may be simultaneous with a part of the retracting movement of the corresponding tube.

When each tube has been retracted so as to be clear of the pile the-wire may be sheared and the ends of each wire may be brought together and twisted together about a portion of the pile. This may be effected by a retractable yoke for each wire, the portions of the wire above and below the pile engaging theyoke and the yoke being shifted outwardly beyond the edge of the pile and then turned to twist the wire ends together. The yoke successively lowered into a tank of coating material such as paint, spelter or bituminous-or other coating material after which they are elevated out of the coating material and allowed to drain. The bundles are then successively moved through a drying station and are finally delivered to the packaging station. I

All of the operations above described from the uncoiling of the strip as it passes to the slitting and expanding apparatus to the delivery of the coated and dried bundles at the packaging station are performed continuously and automatically without any labor other than machine supervision.

' Other details, objects and advantages or" the invention will become apparent as the following description of certain present preferred embodiments thereof proceeds.

In the accompauying'drawings I have shown certain present preferred embodiments of the invention and have illustrated the operation thereof in which Figure 1A is a side elevational view of part of a continuous lath line showing the payoff reel with a coil of steel strip mounted on it, the slitting apparatus, the expanding apparatus, the roller leveler and guide means for guiding the expanded lath back to a horizontal plane;

Figure 1B is a side elevational view of part of the continuous lath line showing one end of the guide means, the flying shear, the speed-up conveyor, the sheet receiving, piling and bundling apparatus, the turntable to receive bundles from the bundler, and a portion of the painter and dryer;

Figure 2 is a partial end elevational view of the continuous lath line from the entry end showing the payoff reel and roller leveler;

Figure 3A is a side elevational view of a modified continuous lath line showing the payoff reel with a coil of steel strip mounted on it, the slitting apparatus, the expanding apparatus, the pinch rolls, the flying shear, and a portion of the speed-up conveyor;

Figure 3B is a side elevational view of the modified continuous lathline showing a portion of the speed-up conveyor, the sheet receiving, piling and bundling apparatus, theturntable to receive bundles from the bundler, and a portion of the painter and dryer;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of a fastening ap paratus without its driving motor and showing the clampmay have an opening in each arm and the wire may pass ing member in clamping position;

Figure 5 is a sectional side view of a fastening apparatus without its driving motor and showing the clamping member in open position;

Figure 6 is an end elevational view of a fastening apparatus as seen from the fastening end;

Figure 7 is an end elevational view partly in section of a fastening apparatus as seen from the motor end taken along line VII--VII of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a sectional view of part of the planetary gear train taken on line VIII-VIII of Figure 5;

Figure 9 is a sectional view of part of the planetary gear train taken on line IX-IX of Figure 5;

T Figure 10 is a sectional view of the fastening wire feed rolls taken on line XX of Figure 5;

Figure 11 is a view of the profiles of the, intermittent gears showing the teeth in the camshaft gear meshed spasms with .the teeth con-the ifastening ;feed countershaft :gear. :Referr'ing to:the drawings, .1 haveshown a continuous lath line (Figures 1A and 1'B;):having a-payofi reel 1 .on which a coil of .steel strip 2 is placed. Strip unwound from the coil follows a path 5, indicated by chain line, through a rotary slitter 4, an expander which expands the strip into expanded lath and a rollerileveler -6. From the roller leveler the strip is led by a guide .8 to axset of pinch rolls 9 and a flying shear 10. .At the flying shear the strip is cut into sheets and fed by theIspeed-up conveyor 11 to a bundler 12. In the description to follow I shall for simplicity sometimes use the term ,bundler to comprehend the sheet receiving and vpiling apparatus .as well as the -bundling apparatus. Successive-sheets are fastened in the bundler into bundles of expanded lath and delivered to a turntable '13 from which the bundle is drawn into a painter 14, of which only agportion is shown in the drawings. In the modified form of continuous lath line (Figures 3A and 3B), like parts are identified by like numbers with the addition of "a prime. A coil of strip 2' is placed on a'payotf reel 1', The strip is fed into a rotary slitter 4 in a plane which is at an angle with 'the horizontal. From the rotary slitter, the strip is fed to an expander 5' and expanded to expanded lath. The angle "with the horizontal at which the strip is fed into the slitter is equal to the angle between the plane of strip entering the expander and'the plane of lath leaving the expander. Thus, in the modified form of continuous lath line, the roller leveler 6' handles ;lath which is in the horizontalplane. The need for a guide to return the strip of lath is'dispensed with and thestrip is fed from the roller leveler directly .to the pinch rolls 9' and the flying shear 10. In all other respects, the operation of the modified lath line is identical with that shown in Figures 1A and 113.

For convenience, the detailed description of the continuous lath line will be divided into subdivisions corresponding to various portions of the line. The entry end of the line preceding the bundler, the bundler, the fastening apparatus, the turntable, and the automatic control system will each be separately described.

The entry end of the line The payoff reel 1 upon which the coil is placed is rotatably mounted, allowing the strip to be drawn into the rotary slitter. The payoff reel is provided with a brake 7 (Figure 2) .to provide a drag on the payoff reel and prevent the inertia of .the coil from unwinding more strip than is taken by the rotary slitter should the con tinuous lath line be stopped or slowed down. In passing through the rotary slitter cuts are .made in the strip, and it .is then expanded into expanded lath in .the expander. It is passed through .the roller leveler to remove any tendency to coil or hump. These units are old and wellknown in the art (see, for example, Cross Patent No. 2,106,967) and will not be further described here. When the strip of expanded lath leaves the expander, it is at an angle to the plane of the strip entering the rotary slitter. Where the strip is fed from .the payoff reel in a horizontal plane, the expanded lath will leave the expander at an angle to the horizontal. To return the lath to the horizontal plane for convenience of handling, it is fed into a guide 8 comprising an open framework which constrains the edges of the strip. The framework gradually assumes the horizontal plane. This results in the expanded lath being in the horizontal plane as it enters between the pinch rolls 9. Passing beyond the pinch rolls the lath is cut intosheets of convenient length by a flying shear 10.

The rotary slitter, the expander, the roller leveler, the pinch rolls and the flying shear are all driven from one motor (not shown in the drawings). .It drives shafts and 16 (Figure 2) through appropriate drive means causing rotation of the two .rolls in therotaryslitterand driving the expander rolls. It similarly drives the input shaft of variablespeeddrive19. The output of'variable speed drive 19 drivesthe roller 'leveler through a spur gearing and the input shaft of variable speed drive 20. The output .shaft of variable speed'drive 20 drives shaft 21 which drives the flying shear. Anextension of the input shaft of variable speed drive 20 drives a shaft similar to and -.-behind shaft 21 driving the pinch rolls 9.

.The speed up conveyor 11 comprises a belt mounted over rollers Hand 23 which are journaled in frame 24. A motor (not shown), mounted on the far side of frame 24 drives roller 23 in a direction to move the upper surfaceof the speed-up belt in a direction moving from the flying shear to the handler, and at a higher rate of speed than the speed of the strip through the part of the con- .tinuous lath line preceding the speed-up conveyor belt.

The bundler The bundler mechanism as such is not a part of the invention-claimed herein and will "therefore be described only generally. For a more complete description of the same, reference may be had to my copending applications hereinbefore referred to. Reference will be made generally now-ofFig. l B-upon a base 31 of-the 'bundler is erected a framwork.32. Guides 33'aflixed to the framework are adapted to-guide sheets delivered by the speed-up conveyor to a reoe'ivingstation. The receiving station comprises a plurality of arms 34 to which a plurality of angles 34a are attached. Sheets delivered from the speed-up conveyor are delivered above andbetween the arms and the individual sheets :are temporarily supported'thereby. The sheet supporting arms 34 are arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the center line of the "machine and are mounted to swing towards and from each other transversely of said center-line. Associated witharms 34 are plural groups of auxiliary sheetsupportin'g members-94, and-96, and 97, 98 "and 99,-.disposed below the arms 34 and spaced longitudinally of .the machine in pairs on opposite sides-of the center line thereof. The arms 34 are arranged to receive and supportrsuccessive sheets fed .thereto when the arms are in inwardly swung positions and to release said sheets when the arms 'are in outwardly rswung positions, for delivering the successive sheets to-one or the other of said groupsof auxiliary sheetsupporting members94, 95 and 96, or 97, 98 and 99. The-auxiliary sheetsupportingmembers are mounted for up and down movement as well as for swinging movement about vertical axes and are arranged at each upward excursion to pause 'to receive a predetermined number of sheets successively delivered thereto by "the arms 34, and then to lower said pile of sheets as thus accumulated and deliver them to a supporting frame (not shown) whereon they are supported when subject to a fastening operation, now to be "described.

The fastening apparatus The fastening apparatus comprises six units, three on each side-of the bundler, designated generally Referring generally to Figures 4 through 11,:oneof the units will be described. A bracket 186 is mounted upon the base 31 of the bundler. Flanges 18-7 of the fastening unit are slidably clamped between the bracket and clamps 188. Links 161 which have heretofore been described are attached to the lower portion of the case of the fastening unit and move it along the bracket, inwardly or outwardly from the center line of the bundler, according to the position of the cams 63 and 73. From each fastening unit a support 189 projects on which a drive motor 190 .is mounted. On the shaft of motor 190 is .a coupling 191 which drives an input shaft 192 of the fastening unit. On one-end of the casing 1930f the Wiring unit an extension 194 is bolted. An .endtbell 195 is fasteed to the extension by bolts 1%. The input shaft 192 is journaled in bearings 1957 and 198 (Figure 5) which are mounted .inthe endrbell. Apinion =199.is formed on the end of input shaft .192 as an integralpartof the shaft (Figure 8). Mounted within extension 194 is a roller bearing 200 (Figure Mounted the roller bearing concentrically are a spider 201. and 'a camshaft 202 which is engaged to the spider by a key 203. A roller bearing 204 mounted in the casing supports the other end of camshaft 202.

Mounted on the end of camshaft 202 nearest motor 190 is a roller bearing 205 and mounted within end bell 196 is a roller bearing 206. A planetgear carrier com prises spider 207 which is mounted on roller bearing 205, spider 208 mounted on roller beating 206 and shafts 209, 210 and 211 (Figures 8 and 9) extending therebetween. An internal gear 212 (Figure 8) is fixedwithin end bell 195 by bolts 213. Keyed to bushings on shafts 209, 210 and 211, and meshing with pinion 199 and'in ternal gear 212, are planet gears numbered 214, 215 and 216 respectively. The bushings are rotatable on shafts 209, 210 and 211. Bolted to the end of spider 201 by bolts 217 is an internal gear 218 (Figure 9). Roller bearings 219 and 220 are mounted in the hollow center of camshaft 202 at opposite ends. A spindle drive shaft 221 is journaled in the bearings. A pinion 222 is formed on the end of spindle drive shaft 221 as an integral part of the shaft (Figure 9). Keyed to bushings on shafts 209, 210 and 211 and meshing with internal gear-218 and pinion 222 are planet gears respectively numbered 223, 224 and 225. Planet gear 223 is attached to planet gear 214 (Figure 8) by bolts 226. In-like manner planet gears 215 and 224 are attached by bolts 227 and planet gears 216 and 225 are attached by bolts 228.

Around the circumference of the portion of camshaft 202 (Figure 5) having the greatest diameter'two' cam tracks are cut. A slotted member 233 is mounted in the casing. On one end a roller 230 is rotatably mounted and is fitted within one of the two cam tracks cut in the greatest diameter of camshaft 202. A shear knife 234 is mounted within the slot at the other end of member 233 from roller 230. Member 231 is slidably mounted in the slot in member 233. It has a roller 229 rotatably mounted on one end and fitted within the other cam track, and a shear knife 232, which operates in conjunction with knife 234, mounted on its other end. When the rollers 229 and 230 are in the portions of the cam tracks marked 235 and 238, as shown in Figure 5, the shear knives 232 and 234 are in their extreme closed position. When the camshaft 202 has made one-half of a revolution, the rollers 229 and 230 will be in the portion of the cain'tracks marked 236 and 237, and the shear knives 232 and 234 will be in their extreme open position. One revolution of camshaft 202 is effective to open and to close shear knives 232 and 234. g

Fixed to one end of spindle drive shaft 221 is a bevel gear 239. A vertical shaft 240 upon which roller bearings 241 are mounted is fixed in the fastening end of the casing. Mounted upon the roller bearings is a compound gear 242 having bevel teeth 243 and spur teeth 244. The bevel teeth mesh with the teeth of bevel gear 239.

Concentric with camshaft 202 is a member 245 keyed to camshaft 202 by a key 246. Gear teeth are cut around part of the circumference of portion 245a of member 245 (Figure 11 Mounted in the lower portion of the casing are roller bearings 247 and 248 in which a countershaft 249 is journaled. Countershaft 249 has an intermittent pinion 250 cut in its end which meshes intermittently with the teeth cut in portion 245a of member 245. On the other end of countershaft 249 a pinion 251 is formed as an integral part of the countershaft. An idler pinion 252 is mounted in the casing and meshes with pinion 251. A bushing 253 (Figure and a roller bearing 254 are mounted in a lower portion of the casing. A shaft 255 having pinion 256 keyed to it is journaled in the bearing and bushing. Pinion 256 meshes with idler pinion. 252. On the other end of shaft 255 is fastened a grooved fastening wire feed roll 257 having a groove 258 cut around its circumference. A shaft 259 is mounted parallel to shaft 255 in roller bearing 260 and bushing 261. A spring 265 which is compressed between the casing and bushing 261 normally serves to maintain the flat fastening wire feed roll 262 in contact with the grooved fastening wire feed roll 257. On one end of shaft 259 a flat fastening wire feed roll 262 is mounted. On the other end of shaft 259 a pinion 259a is fastened which meshes with pinion 256. An extension of shaft 259 rotates in a bushing 263 mounted in-a lever 264. Lever 264 has an offset 266 (Figure 6) which is recessed in the casing. Depressing the tip of lever 264 will cause it to rotate about the offset forcing shaft 259 and bushing 261 outwardly against spring 265 and moving the flat fastening wire feed roll 262 out of contact with the grooved fastening wire feed roll 257. A Y

Mounted on the end of countershaft 249 is a spider 267 (Figure 5) on' which a slide block 268 is rotatably mounted by pin 269. A carriage 270 is free to move in a vertical direction between the casing of the fastening unit and guides 271 (Figure 6). Mounted in the upper and lower ends of carriage 270 are roller bearings 272 and 273 (Figure 5) in which a spindle 274 is journaled. The spindle has splined teeth 275 which mesh with the spur teeth 244 of compound gear 242. A groove 276 cut transverse the direction of movement of carriage 270 accommodates slide block 268. Rotationof the countershaft 249 and slide block 268 will cause carriage 270 to move up and down with simple harmonic motion. Carriage 270 is shown in its lowermost position in Figure 5. It is shown in its highest position in Figure 6.

A hollow sleeve 277 mounted in the lower portion of the casing (Figure 5) leads to a point adjacent the two fastening wire feed rolls. Wire for fastening the bundles is supplied from reels of wire (not shown in the drawings) which may be conveniently located near the lath line. The wire is conducted from the reels to a point near hollow sleeves 277 through suitable conduits.

Another hollow sleeve 278 leads from a point adjacent the fastening wire feed rolls into a hole 279 bored through the center of spindle 274. Hollow sleeve 278 is fixed to the casing and is a sliding fit within spindle 274. A pointed tubular member 280 is afiixed to the upper end of spindle 274. The hole in tubular member 280 coin= cides with the center of rotation of spindle 274. The point 281 of tubular member 280 is off-center and will describe a circle when spindle 274 is rotated.

A shaft 282 is fixed in the upper portion of the casing of the fastening unit and has a gear member 282a rotatably mounted on it. An intermittent pinion 283 and a pinion 284 are formed as integral parts of the gear member 282a. Theintermittent pinion 283 meshes with the intermittent teeth on portion 245a (Figure 11) of member 245. A carriage 285 is slidably mounted on the upper portion of the casing. This has roller bearings 286 and 287 mounted on it in which a yoke shaft 288 is journaled. Fixed to one end of the yoke shaft is a yoke 289 through .whose arms holes 290' are provided. On the other end of yoke shaft 288, meshing with pinion 284, an elongated pinion 291 is formed as an integral part of yoke shaft 288. Concentrically mounted on camshaft 202 and keyed to it is a cam 292. This has a groove cut around its circumference which tracks from one end of the cam to the other. Its extreme positions are indicated by numbers 293 and 294. A roller 295, rotatably mounted on carriage 2S5, fits into the groove cut in cam 292.

A pin 296 is mounted in the casing on top of the fas tening unit and has a clamp 297 pivotally mounted on it. The clamp has a recess 298 cut in its clamping endto accommodate the yoke 289 and tubular member 280 when they are in -their extended positions. Two springs 299 and 300 (Figure 7) are mounted in the casing and are in compression between the casing and nuts on the ends of rods 301 and 302. The other ends of the rods are pierced and have protruding through them a pin 303 which projects through clamp 297 on the opposite side of 'pin 29.6 from recess 298. The springs operate to urge the clamp to its :open position as shown'in Figure 1.7. Member 245 has a cam 304 at Zone end. A follower comprising roller 305 is mounted in the end of push rod 306. The other end of the push rod rests against bearing plate 307 recessed in clamp 297. When the low portion of cam 304 is next to roller 305, the clamp 297 will be in its extreme open position, as shown in Figure 17. When the high portion of cam 304 is next to roller 305, theclamp 297 will be in its closed position, as shown in Figure 16. A rod 308 is threaded into one end of clamp 297 and may be locked in position by nut 309. This contacts operating pin 310 of switch 311 when clamp 297 is in the open position and causes operation of switch 311.

It will be obvious to anyone skilled in the art that suitable "indicating and control devices such as indicating lights, safety switches and manual switches to override the automatic control system may readily be incorporated in the system Without changing its normal function.

Operation The continuous lath line is readied for operation by placing a coil of strip 2 (Figure 1A) on the payoff reel 1 and feeding it into the rotary slitter 4. Spools of wire for fastening the sheets into bundles are placed upon reels and fed from the reels through conduits to hollow sleeve 277 (Figure 5) and the grooved fastening wire feed roll and the flat fastening wire feed roll in the fastening units. Pressing the tip of lever 264 (Figure 6) will move flat fasteningwire feed roll 262 away from grooved fastening wire feed roll 257 and allow the wire to be threaded between the rolls throughhollow sleeve 278 (Figure 5) hole 279 in spindle 274 and tubular member 280 to the shear knives 232 and 234. The fastening wire will be firmly grasped in groove 258 in grooved fastening wire feed roll 257. The continuous lath line is now ready to run and when desired, suitable controls (not shown) may be actuated to start the machine in operation.

The strip which has been started into the line will be cut in the rotary slitter 4, expanded in the expander 5 and leveled in the roller leveler 6. Guide 8 will lead it to the pinch rolls 9 from which it will be fed to flying shear 10. Until the leading edge of the strip has been fed into the pinch rolls it may be desirable to operate the main drive motor at a reduced rate of speed so that the strip may be led into the various units properly. Once the strip has been fed into the pinch rolls the operation will be continuous from the payoff reel to the flying shear and the speed of the operation may be increased.

As the strip of expanded metal passes through the flying shear the leading edge will be lying on speed-up belt 11a. When a length of strip equal to the length of the finished sheets has passed through the flying shear, it will cut a sheet from the end of the advancing strip. Now, being released from the strip, the sheet will be carried rapidly into the bundler by the speed-up conveyor 11.

The pinch rolls 9 are normally closed only in starting and finishing a coil of strip.

Each sheet will be delivered between guides 33 (Figure 1B) and onto angles 34a and the bundling apparatus shown generally in Fig. 1B functions automatically as previously described to successively release the sheets fed to the arms 34 and deposit such sheets upon the supports 94, 95 and 96, and the supports 97, 98 and 99 alternately, each of said groups of supports remaining in elevated position until a pile of sheets comprising a predetermined number of sheets, accumulates thereon, and then lowering the pile of sheets onto a supporting frame for fastening the sheets together by wires, as previously described. After the fastening operation, the motors 190 of the several fastening units are automatically energized. v As each of the motors 190 operates it will rotate the input shaft 192 (Figure 5) of each of the fastening units.

This will rotate pinion 199 (Figure 8). Rotation of pinion 199 will .cause planet gears 214, 215 and 216 to walk around internal gear 212, so that :shafts .209, 210 and 211 will be .moving in a circle about pinion 199. Simultaneously, planet gears .214, 2.15 and 216 will rotate about the axes of the shafts on the bushings which are mounted .on inner bushings. Planet gears 223, 224 and 225 will have the same speed of rotation about the axis ofshafts 209, 210 and 211as planet gears 214, 215 and 216 since they are likewise keyed to the bushings.

The tangential velocity of planet gear 214 at its pitch line contact with the pitch line of internal gear 212 is zero relative to the fastening unit, since internal gear 212 is fixed to the fastening unit. This zero velocity will he made up of two components. One component will be the tangential velocity due to rotation of the planet gears 214, 215 and 21:6, shafts 209, 210 :and 211 and spider 208 about the axis of pinion 199. The other component, of equal. but opposite magnitude, will be the tangential velocity due .to rotation of planet gear 214 about the axis of shaft 209. Because internal gear 212 is, fixed, it is obvious that the magnitudes of these velocities must be equal but opposite. Since planet gears 215 and 216 are symmetrical with planet gear 214, they are subject to the same analysis.

Planet gear 223 is fixed to and moves with planet gear 214. It is, however, of slightly smaller diameter. Likewise, the pitch diameter of'internal gear 218 will be smaller than the pitch diameter of internal gear 212. Like planet gear 214, the tangential velocity of planet gear 223 at its pitch line contact with internal gear 218 will be made up of two components. One component will be the tangential velocity due to rotation of planet gears 223, 224 and .225, shafts 209, 210 and 211 and spider 207 about the axis .of pinion ZZZ-which axis coincides with the axis vofpinion 199. The angular velocity about the axis of pinion 222 will be the same as for the corresponding point on planet gear 214. Since, however, the pitch diameter of internal gear 218 is less than that of internal gear 212, the tangential velocity of planet gear 223 at its point of pitch line contact with internal gear 218 will be less than that of the corresponding point on planet gear 214. This component of tangential velocity in planet gear 223 will be less than that of the corre sponding point on planet gear 214 by the ratio of the pitch diameter of internal gear 218 to the pitch diameter of internal gear 212. Differently stated, the ratio will be the pitch line radius of internal gear 212 reduced by the difference in pitch line radii of planet gears 214 and 223 to the pitch line radius of internal gear 212. The other component will be the tangential velocity due to rotation of planet gear 223 about the axis of shaft 209. Being fixed to planet gear .214, planet gear 223 will have the same angular rotation. The component of tangential velocity of planet gear 223 at its pitch line contact with internal gear 218 will be less than that of the corresponding point on planet gear 214 by the ratio of the pitch line radius of planet gear 223 to the pitch line radius of planet gear 214. Since planet gears 224 and 225 are symmetrical to planet gear 223', the same analysis will apply to them. The gear sizes are such that the reduction in tangential velocity due to rotation about the axis .of shaft 209 is greater than the reduction in tangential velocity due to rotation about the axis of pinion 222.

Consequently, the resultant tangential velocity of planet gear 223 at its pitch line contact point with internal gear 218 will not be zero. The resultant velocity will be in the same direction of rotation as pinion 199.

The tangential velocity of planet gear 214 at its point of pitch line contact with pinion 199 is in the same manner composed of two components-one due to the rotation of planet gears 214, 215 and 216, shafts 209, 210 and 211 and spider 208 about the axis of pinion 199 and the other due to rotation of planet gear 214 about the axis of shaft 209. The summation of these two components will equal the tangential velocity of pinion 199 at its point of pitch line contact with planet gear 214. The same considerations will be true for planet gears 215 and 216 which are symmetrical with planet gear 214. As before described, planet gear 223 will be rotating about shaft 209. The entire assembly of planet gears 223, 224 and 225, shafts 209, 210 and 211 and spider 207 will be revolving about the axis of pinion 222 with the corresponding parts in Figure 20. The tangential velocity of pinion 222 will be the same as the tangential velocity of planet gear 223 at its point of pitch line contact with pinion 222. The component which is due to rotation about the axis of pinion 222 will be slightly larger than that for the corresponding point on planet gear 214 since pinion 222 is of greater diameter than pinion 199. The component due to rotation about the axis of shaft 209 will be smaller than that for the corresponding point on planet gear 214. The resultant velocity will be less than that of the corresponding point on planet 214 and pinion 222 Will rotate in the same direction as, but at a slower speed than, pinion 199. Using a drive as here described with a drive motor running at 1,800 revolutions per minute, I drive pinion 222 at 1,100 revolutions per minute and internal gear 218 at 15.6 revolutions per minute.

Operation of the motor will first cause rotation of camshaft 202 (Figure and member 245, causing the high part of cam 304 to come next to roller 305 and move clamp 297 into clamping position. Clamp 297 will then engage the edge of the bundle of sheets of expanded lath and compress them into a compact pile as shown in Figure 16. At the same time the tracks in which rollers 229 and 230 are fitted will converge, moving the shear knives 232 and 234 apart. The track in which roller 295 is fitted will cause the roller to move carriage 285 toward the bundle of lath so that the two arms of yoke 289 are positioned, one above the bundle and one below the bundle. Throughout this time spindle 274 is being rotated by compound gear 242, spindle drive shaft 221 and pinion 222.

When camshaft 202 begins rotation, cam 304 will cause clamp 297 to clamp the edge of the bundle. Simultaneously, the track in which roller 294 is fitted will begin to move yoke 289 to a position to fit over the edge of the bundle; and the tracks in which rollers 229 and 230 are fitted will begin to open the shear knives. At about the time clamp 297 reaches its clamping position and while yoke 289 and shear knives 232 and 234 are still moving, the intermittent teeth (Figure 11) cut on portion 245a of member 245 will come into engagement with intermittent pinion 250. Pinion 250 will make one revolution in the time that the teeth are engaged. Thus, pinion 250 will make one revolution during each revolution of member 245. In the first half revolution of pinion 250 spindle 274 will be raised to its greatest height by spider 267. As the spindle moves upwardly with tubular member 280, the offset point 281 of tubular member 280 will hunt its way through the wire lath. As it moves upwardly through the lath the rotating point, which will describe a helical path, will find a hole in each sheet of lath and deform it slightly, if necessary, to create a hole straight through the bundle. Meanwhile the two fastening wire feed rolls 257 and 262 will be feeding wire upwardly through the tubular member 280.' When the upward motion is first started, the end of the wire will be projecting beyond the point 281 of tubular member 280 to the shearing surfaces of shear knives 232 and 234. The upward velocity of spindle 274 through most of its upward travel is higher than that of the wire, so that the point 281 will be ahead of the end of the wire when point 281 reaches the bundle of expanded lath. When the tubular member 280 has reached its uppermost point above the bundle and begins to withdraw, the end ofthe wireinside tubular member 280 will again reach above the point 281. The front end of the wire will reach above the bundle before the point of tubular member 280 is withdrawn into the bundle. As spindle 274 continues to be withdrawn wire will be fed upwardly through the hole in the lath formed by tubular member 280 until intermittent pinion 250 will have made a complete revolution and the flat portion of the pinion will again be next to member 245. Internal gear 218, spider 207, camshaft 202, member 245 and cam 292 will continue torotate. The tracks in which rollers 229 and 230 are fitted will diverge causing shear knives 232 and 234 to cut the fastening wire above them from that which is fed up through spindle 274. The cut portion of the fastening wire will be projecting through the holes 290 in yoke 289 and the sheets of lath.

Cam 292 will then cause carriage 235 to be withdrawn until yoke 289 is clear of the edge of the bundle of expanded lath. The ends of the wire will still be retained in holes 290. At this point the teeth on portion 245a of member 245 will engage intermittent pinion 283.

Further rotation of member 245 will drive gear member 282a through one revolution. The ratio between pinion 284 and elongated pinion 291 is 2:1, so that yoke 289 will make two complete revolutions. The ends of fastening wire which will still be caught in holes 290 will be given two complete twists together. I

This operation takes place in three locations on each side of the bundle so that the bundle is now wired together by six separate wires. Further rotation of member 245 will bring the low point of cam 304 next to roller 305. Springs 299 and 300 will return clamp 297 to the open position. Rod 308 will push operating pin 310 of switch 311 and open the switch on that fastening unit.

When each of the switches 311 associated with the respective motors is opened, the circuit to the associated motor will be broken, and in each case the motor will stop running. The result is that as each fastening unit reaches the end of its cycle its particular motor will be stopped. When all of the fastening units have reached the ends of their cycles, motor means is energized to actuate the carrier 142 which then functions to remove the securely tied. bundle of sheets from the supporting frame member and deliver the bundle to the turntable 13. The operation of the machine is then repeated by automatic recycling control apparatus, not shown.

Operation of the conveyor chains 142 will move the bundle on them toward the turntable 13.

It ,will be seen that strip is fed continuously into the continuous lath line. It is automatically cut to length, piled and counted, fastened into bundles and delivered to the painter without any labor beyond that of supervision.

While I have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of the invention and a modification thereof it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for bundling lath or the like comprising means supporting a pile of sheets of lath or the like, a generally tubular penetrating member, means simultaneously rotating and advancing the penetrating member to penetrate the pile, means advancing a fastening member through the penetrating member, means withdrawingthe penetrating member and means joining the ends of the fastening member about a portion of the pile to fasten the sheets togetherto form a bundle.

2. Apparatus for bundling lath or the like comprising means supporting a pile of sheets of lath or the like, a generally tubular penetrating member having a generally pointed extremity, means simultaneously rotating and advancing the penetrating member with said extremity leading to penetrate the pile, means advancing a fastening member through the penetrating member, means with 13 drawing the penetrating member and means joining the ends of the fastening member about a portion of the pile to fasten the sheets together to form a bundle.

3. Apparatus for bundling lath or the like comprising means supporting a pile of sheets of lath or the like, a fork having opposed elements adjacent opposite faces of the pile movable between an advanced position with a portion of the pile at an edge thereof disposed between said elements and a withdrawn position at the side of the pile, each of said elements having an opening therein, a generally tubular penetrating member, means advancing the penetrating member to penetrate the pile, means advancing a fastening member through the penetrating member and through the openings in said elements when the fork is in its advanced position, means withdrawing the penetrating member and means withdrawing the fork and turning it when in its withdrawn position to twist together the ends of the fastening means about a portion of the pile to fasten the sheets together to form a bundle.

4. Apparatus for bundling lath or the like comprising means supporting a pile of sheets of lath or the like, a fork having opposed elements adjacent opposite faces of the pile movable between an advanced position with a portion of the pile at an edge thereof disposed between said elements and a withdrawn position at the side of the pile, each of said elements having an opening therein, a generally tubular penetrating member, means simultaneously rotating and advancing the penetrating member through the opening in one of said elements and through the pile into alignment with the opening in the other of said elements when the fork is in its advanced position, means advancing a fastening member through the penetrating member and through the openings in said elements, means withdrawing the penetrating member and means withdrawing the fork and turning it when in its withdrawn position to twist together the ends of the fastening means about a portion of the pile to fasten the sheets together to form a bundle.

5. Apparatus for bundling lath or the like comprising means supporting a pile of sheets of lath or the like, a fork having opposed elements adjacent opposite faces of the pile, means mounting the fork on the apparatus for movement generally along an axis intermediate said opposed elements relatively to said supporting means between an advanced position with a portion of the pile at an edge thereof disposed between said opposed elements and a withdrawn position at the side of the pile and for turning movement about its axis, means projecting fastening means first into engagement with one of the opposed elements of the fork, then through openings in the piledup sheets and then into engagement with the other of the opposed elements of the fork when the fork is in its advanced position and means for withdrawing the fork and turning it about its axis when in its withdrawn position to twist together the ends of the fastening means about a portion of the pile to fasten the sheets together to form a bundle.

6. Apparatus for bundling lath or the like comprising means supporting a pile of sheets of lath or the like, a generally tubular penetrating member having a generally pointed extremity which is eccentric to the axis of said member, means simultaneously rotating said member about its axis and advancing said member with said generally pointed extremity leading to penetrate the pile, means advancing a fastening member through the penetrating member, means withdrawing the penetrating member and means joining the ends of the fastening member about a portion of a pile to fasten the sheets together to form a bundle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 507,425 Fowler Oct. 24, 1893 1,295,531 Leaver Feb. 25, 1919 1,550,348 Curtis Aug. 18, 1925 2,054,603 Leaver Sept. 15, 1936 2,188,146 Fraula Jan. 23, 1940 2,200,877 Farkas May 14, 1940 2,257,469 Keil Sept. 30, 1941 2,524,316 Jackson Oct. 3, 1950 2,599,290 Schwenzer June 3, 1952 2,634,532 Englert Apr. 14, 1953 2,635,530 Wirtz et a1. Apr. 21, 1953 2,636,460 Seiderman Apr. 28, 1953 2,728,314 Richards Dec. 27, 1955 2,839,990 Bailer June 24, 1958 2,849,236 Beaulieu Aug. 26, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 812,537 Germany Sept. 3, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Patent N0v 2 938 l52 May Sl 1960 William Mo Ries It is herebfi certified that error appears in the-printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2 line 56 ior "predetermining" reed predeter mined line 69M for "it" read at column 6 line 22 for "Reference" read Referring line 23 for "oi" first occurrence reed to line 24: for 'iramwork" read iremework same column 6 line 72 for iasteed" reed fastened a Signed and sealed this 3rd day of January 1961B SEAL Attest:

KARL HQ AXLlNE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

